Task Force on India -Russian trade

Tags: Summits

The Government of India has set up an inter-ministerial task force to examine the feasibility of Rupee-Rouble trade arrangement.

• The inter-ministerial task force chairman is  Secretary , Department of Economic Affairs in the Ministry of Finance , Mr Ajay Seth .

• The American and European government has blocked many prominent Russian banks from the SWIFT (Society for Worldwide International Financial Telecommunication ) payment mechanism .

• It has made payment in US dollar and euro with Russia virtually impossible. Around $500 million payments of Indian exporters are stuck with the Russians .

• The task force will explore alternative payment mechanisms with Russia.

The rupee-rouble exchange is nothing new. It had its foundation in the Indo-Soviet Trade Agreement signed between the two countries on 02 Dec 1953. This agreement provided that all payments between India and USSR may be made in Indian Rupees.  However this agreement came to an end after the disintegration of the Soviet Union and the Russian government insisted on payment in  hard currency like US dollars .

Important for Exam 

Russian Currency : Rouble 

For details and clear understanding of SWIFT see our blogs on SWIFT.